SALEWA Mountain Trainer GTX Mid Boot

After 30+ miles on the Appalachian Trail these are my favorite boots of all time. I was worried about the blister situation and packed extra insoles just in case and found that the supplied peel away split insole that these come with either made the boots fit snug or too loose. So in the end I just used my old stillflex insoles (from an old Dolomite boot) and had no issues with blisters. I also use liner socks and pre-applied my own homemade anti-blister balm just to be safe and had no issues with blisters. The break in time for these boots took just the morning on the first day.
My favorite feature is that the rand and under-soles stick to everything. We were hiking late December and there were wet leaves, wet rocks and ice everywhere and I had no issues climbing over anything.
My one gripe is these are not the most cushioned boots I ever worn and downhills you tend to feel it more especially on worn down trails. But this can easily be fixed by inserting beefier cushioned insoles.
In closing I will sum up the awesomeness of these boots: In the last 10 years of hiking the first thing I always want to do when getting back to the car is throwing off my boots and getting into some dry cotton socks and sneakers or flip flops for the drive home. Last night was the first time in 10 years that I kept my boots on during the 2+ hours drive back home. That is how comfortable these Salewa are!

Hiking Appalachian Trail thru NY. Christmas Eve, 2012


I'm not a fan of the original two sole system that Salewa ships these boots with. It either makes the boots fit snug for the size if you use both insoles or loose for the size if you use the one thin insole. So I substituted an old Stillflex insole and it worked out perfectly.